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Loretta Lynn's children are carrying on her legacy on and off the stage — as well as Loretta Lynn's Ranch.
The late country music icon shares six children — four of whom she had given birth to by the age of 20 — with her late husband, Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn, whom she married at age 15. They are parents to Betty Sue, who died in 2013, Jack Benny, who died in 1984, Clara Marie, Ernest Ray, and twins Peggy Jean and Patsy Eileen.
Despite her love for performing, touring had "rough" consequences for Loretta. Speaking with PEOPLE in 2016, Loretta said it wasn't unusual for her to miss out on holidays and family time. "I was working clubs, and I was doing like three and four shows a night," she recalled. Loretta even kept up with her busy schedule well into her pregnancy with the twins. "I'd play shows right up until the babies was born and that guitar around my neck just about killed me. I don't advise it to any mother."
"Family means everything to me," Loretta added. Her biggest piece of advice to parents and her grown children? Soak up as much family time as possible. "You never catch up the lost time. That time's gone," she quipped.
From successful country music careers to tending to the family Hurricane Mills estate, here's everything to know about Loretta Lynn's six children.
Betty Sue Lynn
At just 16 years old, Loretta welcomed her first child, daughter Betty, on Nov. 26, 1948. Much like her mom, Betty became a phenomenal songwriter. She even penned the lyrics to Loretta's "Wine, Women and Song" and "The Home You're Tearin' Down." On July 29, 2013, Betty died at age 64 of complications from emphysema.
To keep Betty's spirit alive, Loretta would share her favorite anecdotes of Betty on the anniversary of her passing every July on Instagram. In 2021, Loretta recalled how in a lot of ways, "it seemed like we were raising each other as young as I was." She added that not a day passed when they didn't talk on the phone. "I fell in love with her the moment I first saw her."
In an Instagram tribute to her daughter in July 2022, Loretta described Betty as "feisty" and "fun." Most importantly, however, she said Betty had "a heart of gold." Betty is survived by her daughters, Lynn Marworth and Audrey Dyer, per Music Row.
Jack Benny Lynn
Dolittle's mini-me, son Jack, was born on Dec. 7, 1949, and was named after Loretta's favorite comedian. Unlike the women in his family, Jack didn't spark a career in the music industry. He stayed back at the family ranch working with the horses and as a blacksmith. He and wife Barbara are parents to daughter Jenny; Jack also welcomed two kids from a previous relationship.
On July 22, 1984, Jack tragically drowned while trying to cross Duck River on horseback. A rescue team later found and retrieved his body from the river on the family's Hurricane Mills property. At the time of Jack's death, Loretta was on tour and checked into a hospital after falling unconscious due to extreme exhaustion. Doolittle traveled from Tennessee to an Illinois hospital, where Loretta was recovering, to deliver her the news in person.
"She tore to pieces," her youngest, Patsy, told PEOPLE at the time. "They were very close."
As with Betty, Loretta would pay tribute to Jack every year on the anniversary of his death. "He was quiet and tender," Loretta said of her "blond headed, blue-eyed baby," whom she "adored with all my heart."
"You still bring a smile to me every time I think of you," she added.
Clara Marie Lynn
The pair welcomed their second daughter, Clara "Cissie," on April 7, 1952. Cissie spent much of her music career on the road, opening for some of country music's biggest stars like George Jones, Mel McDaniel and Conway Twitty. She married singer-songwriter John Beams, who was also Loretta's driver for nearly 20 years.
In 2011, Cissie and John announced their joint album titled The Daughter of the Coal Miner's Daughter. The entire record is Cissie's rendition of her favorite Loretta hits. Her mom produced the album herself; it was Loretta's first time in the producer's chair.
"I was definitely honored to do that," Cissie told Nashville Music Guide while re-recording her mom's famous songs. "It's hard to explain my feelings. My children and my grandchildren will listen to this album and say that their Mama and their Grandma did this all."
Cissie and her husband have since retracted from the limelight. At one point, they owned and operated a country store and music barn just down the road from Loretta Lynn's Ranch. They sold handmade goods from Tennessee and country music memorabilia, per the website. Albeit, it appears the store is no longer running.
Ernest Ray Lynn
Born on May 27, 1954, in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, Ernest is the couple's second son together. Ernest had a passion for music as well and would often join his mom on the road as her opener and bandmate. Loretta often referred to Ernest as "one of her best friends."
In 1972, Ernest married Cindy Pelmons, whom he met through his older sister. "Daddy always said that when Cissy brought mama home and she started talking to him, he fell in love with her right then," their daughter Tayla Lynn said in an interview with The Ties That Bind Us. The pair welcomed Tayla in 1975; they divorced that same year.
Some of her fondest childhood memories include riding along on her "Memaw" and dad's tour bus, Tayla, who is now a country musician herself, told the outlet. "I would crawl in the back of the bus with her and spend day after day with her, snuggling and sharing a bed, so I've always felt very connected and close to Memaw," she said.
Ernest, for his part, leads a life out of the public eye. According to Loretta's Instagram, Ernest is now married to his second wife, Crystal. The pair reside in Hurricane Mills and work on Loretta Lynn's Ranch.
Peggy Jean Lynn
Loretta and Doolittle welcomed the first of their twins, daughter Peggy, on Aug. 6, 1964. Peggy is named after Loretta's sister Peggy Sue. Speaking with TimeOut in 2011, Loretta said one of her biggest regrets is spending so much time on the road away from her children. "It's a great life to be with your kids, and every woman oughtta be with her kids," she told the outlet. "That's her job and it's good for both of you."
In the late '90s, Peggy and Patsy formed a country band dubbed The Lynns. They charted Billboard's Hot Country Songs twice during their country music reign. After releasing their '97 chart-topper "Woman to Woman," they were nominated for CMA vocal duo of the year in 1998 and 1999. By the early aughts, The Lynns had amicably called it quits.
In a 2022 personal essay titled Two Are Better Than One, Loretta gushed about her twins. She shared that Peggy has since "become a master farmer" and has turned her garden "into a little piece of heaven."
Patsy Eileen Lynn Russell
At the time of Patsy's birth, on Aug. 6, 1964, Loretta wasn't aware she was having twins. "When he said there was another one to deliver, in exhaustion I said, 'I can't. Leave it in there!'" Loretta penned in Two Are Better Than One. Patsy is named after her mother's late dear friend and country music legend Patsy Cline.
Patsy went from performing on stage to working backstage as a producer and songwriter. In fact, she and John Carter Cash, the son of country legends Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, co-produced all of Loretta's albums from 2016 and on. Loretta credited Patsy for keeping "so much of my world running."
In 2019, "cousins" Patsy and Julie Fudge, Cline's daughter, teamed up to co-produce Patsy & Loretta. The Lifetime movie explores the 19-month friendship between their mothers up until Cline's passing in 1963. Ahead of the premiere, the duo spoke with PEOPLE about the project and their relationships with both each other and Cline and Loretta. "It's kind of like the aunt that lives in Oregon," Patsy said of Cline. "You know, you hear about her all the time, and you hear stories of the sister stuff that they got into, but you just don't get to see her."
Patsy and her husband, Philip Russell, tied the knot in 1998. They share six children. "I guess I'm more proud of the mommas they are and how fiercely they love their own kids than anything," Loretta wrote of her twins.
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